


Game Night

by Arvanion



Series: Commissioned Work [7]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Characters play D&D, Gen, High School, nerds being nerds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 08:29:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15815220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Arvanion/pseuds/Arvanion
Summary: The self-styled "afternoon snack club" get together for their weekly session of D&D.(Commissioned by bullfrogonthehorizon.)





	Game Night

**Author's Note:**

> A commission for [bullfrogonthehorizon](https://bullfrogonthehorizon.tumblr.com/), who requested a modern AU featuring Lucina and her eclectic group of friends. I figured a session of D&D would be a fun way to play around with their group dynamic!

The doorbell rang at a quarter past six, and Gerome grumbled as Laurent got up from the couch. “I thought we weren’t going to start until seven.”

“That’s what I thought, too, but…” Laurent tilted his head to the side, working out the stiffness in his neck. “I guess we’ll just have to ask why.” He opened the door.

“Yo.”

“Kjelle? You’re… very early.”

The tall girl rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. I probably should’ve texted you or something.”

“Well, you’re here now, so you may as well come in.” Laurent beckoned her inside. “So, to what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Homework,” said Kjelle, grimacing and shrugging off her backpack as Laurent closed the door after her. “I’ve been behind on turning in my trig assignments, and Coach Fred says I’ll have to sit out the next game if I don’t take care of it.”

Gerome rolled his eyes. “Typical of him.”

“Nothing quite like threatening to bench your star player to drive home the point about academics being more important than basketball,” said Laurent.

“Especially when our next game’s against Ferox West. Right now, they’re our main rival for regionals.”

“It’s things like this that make me glad I don’t care about sports,” said Gerome.

Kjelle snorted. “You say that, but I seem to remember you getting pretty worked up over  that broadcast of--”

Gerome interrupted. “That’s because I like the team! Not the sport!”

“Sure.”

Laurent cleared his throat. “If you want to get anything done, Kjelle, we should probably start now.”

“Good point.”

For the next half-hour, Laurent walked Kjelle through the equations. Gerome ignored them both, popping in his earbuds and playing a game on his phone while he waited.

At ten minutes to seven, the doorbell rang again. “I’ll get it,” said Gerome. “See, Kjelle, this is when I thought  _ you _ would be arriving…”

“Bite me.”

The door opened to Lucina and Severa, arm in arm. “Hey there, princesses.”

“You know I hate that nickname,” Severa grumbled as the pair stepped inside.

Lucina frowned. “I thought you liked it when I called you princess.”

“I-I mean, it’s fine if it’s you, but--”

“Oh my  _ god  _ get a room.”

“Is that you, Kjelle?” Lucina looked around Gerome, surprised. “I thought you’d be the last one to get here…”

“She needed help with her homework,” said Gerome smugly.

“Can it, you wannabe goth.”

“ _ Wannabe _ ?”

“Are we operating under the hypothesis that one must have participated in the sacking of Rome to be a  _ true  _ Goth?”

Severa scoffed. “Laurent, you complete and utter  _ nerd _ .”

“Honestly, that probably applies to all of us,” said Lucina. “I mean, we  _ did  _ all come here to play D&D, right?”

“...Fair.”

Laurent straightened his glasses. “Have either of you heard from Brady? Usually he’s the one who shows up early.”

“You mean he’s not here yet? Huh.” Severa scratched at her cheek. “That’s unusual for him.”

“He probably got wrapped up in practicing his violin again and forgot to look at the clock,” said Kjelle. “That sort of thing is  _ definitely  _ usual.”

“The orchestra concert is only two weeks away,” Lucina pointed out. “And he’s the first chair, so practicing is a pretty big deal.”

“I just hope he remembers to eat and sleep,” said Laurent.

Gerome prodded his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Look who’s talking.”

“I think I’ve been pretty good about that lately.”

“It’s eat  _ and  _ sleep, not eat  _ or  _ sleep.”

“Okay, but one out of two is better than none…”

The doorbell rang again.

“Well, speak of the devil…”

Severa, standing closest to the door, pulled it open. “Hey, Brady.”

“Sorry I’m late…”

“You’re still five minutes early.”

“I mean, yeah, but I’d planned on showin’ up a little earlier than this…”

“Yes, how dare you keep us all waiting,” said Severa in an acidic tone of voice. “You’d better have a truly incredible excuse for such terrible manners.”

Brady held out a large plastic container. “I brought homemade cookies.”

“Holy shit, really?!” Kjelle’s jaw dropped as she stuck her head into the entryway. “Brady, you’re the best!”

“Geez, I wasn’t actually being serious…” Severa rubbed at the back of her neck with one hand. “Now I feel like an asshole.”

“That’s because you are one,” Gerome quipped.

“Oh, shut up.”

“At least she’s lovable,” Lucina said with a grin.

“You shut up, too!” Despite her annoyed tone, Severa was still blushing.

Laurent cleared his throat. “Now that we’re all here, we may as well get started, right?”

“Sounds good to me,” said Brady. “I’ve been lookin’ forward to this all week!”

With some more good-natured joshing, the six students settled in around the dining room table. Laurent set up his screen and whiteboard before taking out a marker and starting to sketch out the outlines of a hallway.

“When we left off, you had just entered the lair of the elder lich, Ikana.” His voice dropped into a storyteller’s cadence. “Cobwebs cling to the ceilings, and faintly glowing crystals offer the only illumination. The hallway extends straight ahead for as far you can see, fading into the distance…”

~ ~ ~

“Okay, I am  _ super  _ not liking this,” Severa muttered as she glared down at the board. They’d been playing for a few hours now, and most of the lich’s lair was mapped out on the board.

“Yeah, same here,” said Brady. “Ain’t there normally enemies in rooms like this?”

“That’s usually the case.” Gerome shrugged. “Though I’m not complaining about being able to save my spell slots.”

Currently, they were in a large room that Laurent had described as a decrepit dining hall. A massive pair of doors blocked off the far end of the room, but there were no obvious foes in sight.

“Luna’s gonna check for traps again,” said Severa, rolling. “That’s a… 27, total.”

“You do not detect any traps,” Laurent replied.

“That’s gotta be at least the tenth time you’ve done that, and you haven’t found a single thing.” Kjelle rolled her eyes. “He already told you there aren’t any traps.”

“He said I didn’t  _ detect  _ any. That’s a completely different thing.” Severa glared at Kjelle. “If you want, I can just give up on it and let you get blown up by whatever nasty stuff he’s hiding from us.”

“Hey, I’ve got plenty of hit points!” Kjelle looked over at Laurent. “I’m gonna move Sonja over to the doors and try to open them.”

“Clotho will come with you,” said Lucina. “Just in case you end up needing healing.”

“You know how much I love it when you lay hands on me,” said Kjelle with a wink.

“Oh my god, stop trying to seduce my girlfriend.”

“Why, Sev? Afraid it’ll work?”

Severa grabbed a cookie and took a big bite out of it before speaking through a full mouth. “You’re awful, you know?”

“I know.” Kjelle looked over at Laurent. “All right, do I have to roll for anything?”

“Make a strength check.”

The die clattered across the table. “18.”

“You push against the doors, and they slowly but surely begin to budge. You can hear the hinges screeching as accumulated rust impedes their movement.”

“Probably should get ready, just in case somethin’ nasty’s on the other side,” said Brady.

“I’ll detect evil.” Lucina looked over at Laurent. “Do I sense anything?”

“There’s a powerful evil aura on the other side of the door--more powerful than anything you’ve sensed before. You can’t tell if it’s from one source, or multiple.”

“Probably the lich,” said Gerome. “I’ll have Ylir start readying a fireball for when the door’s far enough open.”

“I’ll, uh…” Brady scratched at his scalp. “Guess Kote'll start playing music to inspire courage, if we’re settin’ up for a fight.”

“Luna will duck into a corner and wait for--ah, shit, never mind.” said Severa. She sighed. “Stupid undead and their stupid sneak attack immunity. She’ll just find a safe spot to settle in and draw out her shortbow.”

“That leaves Sonja and Clotho on the front line.” Kjelle grinned at Lucina. “Think we’re up to it?”

“I doubt that turning undead will work on these guys,” said Lucina. “So we’ll just have to destroy them the old-fashioned way.”

“A heavy flail to the face? Simple. I like it.”

Laurent cleared his throat. “The doors open fully, and you see Ikana standing in front of a throne, flanked by two undead knights. The lich’s voice echoes to you: ‘Come, and die, like all before you!’”

The other five blinked as Laurent snapped his laptop shut. “And I think we’ll wrap up there for the night.”

“You’re friggin’  _ kidding  _ me!” Brady put his head in his hands. “Just when we were getting all hyped up for the boss fight, too?”

“You realize it’s almost midnight, right?”

Brady looked up at the clock and winced. “Aw, crap, you’re right. I oughtta get going, or I’ll hear it from Ma.”

Severa snorted. “My mother probably doesn’t even realize I’ve been out, but I suppose I should get back anyway.”

Lucina pushed her chair back and sighed with contentment. “That was fun. Thanks, everyone. Same time next week?”

Laurent nodded, smiling. “That’s the plan.”

**Author's Note:**

> For those who are curious about what characters each kid is playing:
> 
> Gerome - Ylir, Human Sorcerer  
> Kjelle - Sonja, Half-orc Barbarian  
> Lucina - Clotho, Half-elf Paladin of Fate  
> Severa - Luna, Elf Rogue  
> Brady - Kote, Gnome Bard


End file.
